ATLANTA — The head of a commercial real estate investment firm has been sentenced to 87 months in prison and ordered to pay $45 million in restitution in a fraud scheme involving the Atlanta Financial Center in Buckhead.
Elchonon (Elie) Schwartz, 46, of New York City pleaded guilty in February to one count of wire fraud. Schwartz convinced more than 800 investors to send him $62.8 million, including $54 million earmarked for the huge office building on Peachtree Road. Instead of using the money for legitimate purposes, he diverted it into buying luxury items for his own use.
“Schwartz’s greed was boundless,” said Theodore S. Hertzberg, interim U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Georgia. “He callously abused the trust of hundreds of investors to line his own bank accounts. … Schwartz’s sentence reflects our office’s commitment to hold fraudsters accountable for exploiting investors who innocently rely on their false representations.”…